As Long as You're Mine
by carolinecello101
Summary: Not really sure where this is going yet! Reviews are greatly appreciated. Pepper and Tony have feelings for each other, except neither of them wish to admit it. What will happen when Tony asks Pepper out to lunch?
1. Chapter 1

"Good morning sir. It is seven o'clock." JARVIS continued as Tony moaned in his bed. He had stayed up all night just staring at his ceiling, thinking. _Today is not going to be fun _he thought. He knew Pepper probably had a dozen meetings lined up for him, but all he wanted was sleep.

_Why is sleep so hard to get lately?_, Tony thought. His insomnia had gradually grown worse since the battle with Obadiah. He couldn't figure out what was wrong—maybe it had something to do with killing his last connection to his parents. Tony didn't feel the least bit guilty. Obadiah had tried to kill him three times! However, the lack of someone to tell him how he was just like his dad made him uneasy yet enlightened. Howard Stark had envisioned a world of peace, but never made peace with his own son. Tony never wanted to end up like that, like someone who never gave a damn about the people he "cared" about.

Yet, here he was. A womanizer who brought home a new babe almost every night, and left them before they even woke up, leaving Pepper to clean up after him. A jackass who felt his money and his status made him entitled to everything. An idiot, despite his IQ and his knack for being able to build anything and everything. Was it so easy to fall into that trap?

He groaned and finally sat up, bleary-eyed. Morning had taken forever to come, yet once it had arrived, he wanted it to go away. Tony swung his feet out of bed and padded slowly and heavily to the shower, which he had hoped would wake him up. The cool water washing over him made him more awake than he wanted to be. He rubbed the sudsy shampoo through is hair and shook it out, spraying water drops on every wall in the shower. Once he stepped out of the shower, the wide-awake feeling left him, and it was replaced by a never-ending tiredness.

"JARVIS, send a message to Pepper." He called out to the AI.

"What shall this message say, sir?" JARVIS replied politely.

"When will my first meeting start?"

"I sent the message, sir."

Tony grunted almost-thanks and stumbled back into his room. He pulled a pair of dark jeans and a navy blue pinstripe button-up shirt out of a dresser drawer and took his time putting them on. He was buttoning up his shirt when JARVIS announced that he had received an instant message from Pepper.

"Pepper says your first meeting starts in about fifteen minutes at the office. Your meeting will be with Mr. Ramsey of Ramsey Software."

"Tell her I'll be there, and that I'm leaving now."

"Yes sir."

Tony quickly tied the laces on a pair of Vans and waltzed into the kitchen. He could tell that Jarvis had one of the bots make him a spinach smoothie, because green goo was all over the counter. He sighed and proceeded to pour what was left in the blender into a travel cup.

"JARVIS, have one of the bots clean this up. Preferably not the one who made this mess, because it'll probably make more of a mess."

"Okay sir. I'm on it."

Tony hopped into the Audi and sped off on the highway towards the Stark Industries tower.

"So what does this Mr. Ramsey want with Stark Industries?" Tony asked Pepper as the elevator doors closed.

Pepper pressed the button for floor twenty-one. "He wants to sell you his business communications software."

"Why would I buy that if I can just make something better myself?

"You don't have time to make something better."

"I could make time if you'd stop dragging me to these pointless meetings."

"These meetings are very important, Mr. Stark. As CEO of this company you should attend them."

"How many times have I told you to call me Tony?"

"Fine, Tony, but that's not important right now. What is important is that you get to this meeting ASAP. You're late enough as it is. Right this way." Pepper opened up a set of frosted glass doors which led to a small conference room. The room had a large plasma TV on the back wall, which was currently displaying the beginning of Mr. Ramsey's presentation. In the center of the room was a large wooden conference table with the Stark Industries logo in the center. A few people were seated around the table, all with a pad of paper and a pen out.

"Mr. Stark! I'm glad you could make it. Are you ready for this presentation?" Mr. Ramsey exclaimed as Tony walked through the door.

"I sure hope so. Let's just get this started." Tony replied. He began to make himself comfortable in his designated seat at the head of the table and Mr. Ramsey began the slideshow.

Tony felt himself nodding off, and he nearly would have fallen asleep had it not been for Pepper constantly kicking him under the table. Finally, the will to please Pepper overcame his need to sleep. He pulled out his phone and sent an instant message to her.

TStark: Boring.

PPotts: Pay. Attention.

TStark: But that's no fun… :(

PPotts: You have to. You're the one who signed off saying you wanted to go to this. And what's with the smiley?

TStark: I don't remember signing off on this… was it one of those papers you force me to sign that I don't even read? And I feel like smileys today. :P

PPotts: It probably was. You're supposed to read them.

TStark: But those are boring. Most of it is all the same stuff anyways.

PPotts: Pay attention. You asked to go to this meeting.

TStark: Fine. :/

"Mr. Stark, what would you think of having Ramsey Software a part of your company?" Mr. Ramsey asked.

"I'm not so sure. Pepper, would adopting his company bring up our stock points?" Tony responded.

"Yes it would, Mr. Stark." Pepper said after glancing at her tablet.

"Then why not? Email my assistant the details, and I'll see what we can do."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Stark. I look forward to working with you." Mr. Ramsey held out his hand for Tony to shake, but Tony simply stood up and walked out without shaking his hand. Pepper hurried after him, her heels making it difficult to catch up, as Tony was walking quickly.

"Do you realize how rude that was?"

"Yes, I probably do. But that guy was an idiot! There are much better companies out there. Besides, I could hire someone here to make it themselves. Wouldn't it be cheaper?"

"It might be, but it won't bring up this company's stock points, and you know as well as I do that we need that!"

"Hey, they've been doing better ever since I announced that I'm Iron Man."

"They aren't where they used to be."

"Pepper, he will email you all of the details tomorrow. I just want you to say that I changed my mind or something. I don't want to have anything to do with his company."

"Why didn't you say so in the meeting then?"

Tony stopped, turned around, and looked Pepper square in the eye. "I knew you would throw a fit in there, and I prefer that you do it out here rather than in there."

"Fine. Mr. – erm , Tony, your next meeting is at two o'clock with the board of directors. You should have some time to get a lunch beforehand."

"Would you like to get some lunch with me?" Tony asked, and immediately felt stupid for asking. Pepper probably had her own lunch. Even if she didn't, she would decline, saying it wasn't appropriate. _God dammit, she probably thinks I'm an idiot now, _he thought. He felt like a shy teenage boy again, asking out the girl of his dreams.

Pepper was stunned. This gesture was the last thing she expected from Tony. Despite her growing affection for her boss, she couldn't go out to lunch with him. It simply wasn't appropriate. However, against her better judgment, she actually considered it. _What would one lunch date hurt?_ She asked herself.

The silence between them stretched out into an eternity, each of them becoming more uncomfortable than the other. Finally, Pepper replied, "Sure, I'd love to."

Tony exhaled a sigh of… relief? He wasn't quite sure what he felt. He was overjoyed that Pepper had accepted his date offer, but wasn't quite sure it was genuine, especially since they had just had an argument over Mr. Ramsey's presentation. "Great! Come with me, we'll leave now." Tony held out his arm for Pepper to grab, but she just stared at him, confused. "Right this way. I parked outside."

Pepper walked ahead of Tony and out to the front of the lofty Stark Industries tower, where the Audi was waiting for them. He opened the door for Pepper and she climbed in, holding onto her pad of paper and her pen. Tony quickly closed the door and jogged around to the other side and got behind the wheel.

"Where to?" he asked.

"I thought you had a place in mind." Pepper said, confused.

"I didn't. I was ready to go wherever you wanted."

"Oh. Umm… how about we stop by Chipotle?" Pepper suggested.

"Sounds great." Tony grinned. He stepped on the gas and he and Pepper raced out to the highway.


	2. Chapter 2

"Um, this isn't Chipotle." Pepper tried to point out as nicely as possible. She was very confused – Tony had said they were going to Chipotle.

"I know. This is better." Tony said as he hurriedly jumped out of the sports car to open the door for Pepper. She began to open her door as he reached to other side. He sighed in disappointment when she stepped out of the car.

"It's okay. I can open my own door." Pepper said.

"Of course." Tony replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"So why here instead of Chipotle?" Pepper asked.

"It's much quieter here so we can talk. The food's better here as well. So, come on. Let's eat." Tony guided pepper into the restaurant.

He was right – it was much quieter than Chipotle. It was also less crowded. A waiter seated them, handed out the menu, and began ranting about the specials.

"Today's special is the vegetarian fajita with brown rice and _pico de gallo_. My name is Janelle; I'll your waitress today. May I start you off with something to drink?"

"Yes, a vodka martini for her. Extra dry extra olives. I'll have a root beer." Tony ordered. Janelle nodded and walked away to get their drinks.

"How'd you know what I wanted?" Pepper asked, smiling.

"I know a lot of things you don't think I know, Pep." Tony replied with a goofy grin. He had worked with Pepper for nearly eight years. Although he hadn't noticed much before Afghanistan, he found himself watching her more, observing the little things. _But we have a boss-employee relationship. That's all._ He assured himself, although he didn't quite believe it.

Pepper nodded and examined her menu; but she found it hard to focus on which entrée to choose with Tony on her mind. This was out of character for him. He never asked her out to lunch or held the door for her. She figured he must have an angle – he always has an angle. Now her task was to figure out what he wanted from her.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of eyes on her. _Is Tony… staring at me?_ She thought. She glanced up from her menu and saw Tony, still with that goofy grin, looking at her. The grin faded when he realized Pepper caught him, and he quickly looked down at his menu.

Janelle came back waltzing back with their drinks and asked if they were ready to order. Tony and Pepper looked at each other, waiting for the other to order. After an eternity of silence, Tony spoke up.

"Um, I'll have the special with an extra tortilla on the side."

"I'll have the same." Pepper said, absent-minded. Apparently she was going to be eating the same thing as Tony. _This is bad.___ She thought. _I'm too distracted to make my own decisions._

"So, um, what's that board of director's meeting about?" Tony tried to make conversation.

"The suit. How it works, what we should do about it. The government is getting involved." Pepper replied.

"What the hell does the government want with my suit?"

"They want you to hand it over for research. They also think it is a weapon that should not be in civilian hands."

"But I'm not a civilian. I'm Iron Man." Tony was furious. He was a _superhero._ That should definitely make a difference. _I was able to do a job in five minutes that they couldn't do in five months. I'm _not _a civilian._

"Nonetheless, they feel it is a weapon of war. You might not do something stupid, but someone could steal a suit and that would be very bad."

"No one can steal one of my suits!" Tony shouted. "JARVIS has them on constant lockdown, and no one else can wear a suit unless I say they can."

"Calm down, Tony. Save all of this for the government. I'm sure they would _love_ to hear it." Pepper said flatly.

"Oh, here comes food. I'm starving." Tony said, suddenly excited. Pepper giggled. _Tony is just like a teenager_. She thought. _An overgrown teenager._

"Two vegetarian fajita specials with sides of brown rice, pico de gallo, and an extra tortilla. Is there anything else I can get you?" Janelle said, setting down the two plates.

"No, that'll be all." Tony replied.

"Enjoy your meal." Janelle said and walked back to the kitchen.

"Have you noticed you never say 'please' or 'thank you'?" Pepper inquired.

"Oh, God. Not this again." Tony groaned as he began to pick up a fajita.

"Tony, you know you should. It's polite."

"Geez, Mom. Stop it." Tony said with a mouthful of fajita, rolling his eyes.

"You drive me absolutely insane. It's a wonder I still have hair."

Tony chuckled. "It's my life's work, driving you insane." Pepper rolled her eyes. "Look, if it will mean something to you, I'll try not to drive you so insane."

"Pfft, I doubt you can do that." Pepper began to eat her rice.

"I bet you I can. What can I do?"

"Oh, it's a long list. You could stop complaining about meetings, turn down your music when you're in the garage, be polite to people. You know perfectly well what you do."

"I do." Tony grinned.

"If you can manage to annoy me minimally for the next week, then – "

"You have to kiss me."

"Tony, that's hardly – "

"And if I fail, I have to let you drive the Audi for a week. And I'll buy you a purse."

Pepper sighed. The offer was tempting; it was completely easy for her to win the bet. She could get a new purse out of it, too. _There's no way in hell Tony could do what I asked_. Pepper thought.

"Finally, she looked at him, reached her hand across the table, and said, "I'll be seeing my purse in a week, then?"

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Pepper. When I want something, I tend to set my mind on getting it."

Pepper blushed, but then quickly retaliated. "You are such a flirt. And that's not a good thing."

"Is there something wrong with being a chick magnet?" Tony grinned.

"Yes. There's everything wrong with being overgrown teenager."

"Would an overgrown teenager be this successful and handsome?"

"There's not enough room in this restaurant for both me and your ego?"

"Are you saying I have to pick one? Hmm… tough choice."

"Tony, you're losing this bet very quickly."

"Alright, alright. I would probably choose you." Tony said cautiously. He wasn't sure how Pepper would react. Would she be offended? Flattered? Falling madly in love with him? Probably not. Instead, she just rolled her eyes and focused on her fajitas. Tony was almost disappointed that she didn't say anything. He wanted to know how she felt. He wanted to express how he felt, but didn't have the words. Or any idea of how he felt. He looked down at his half empty plate. He didn't even realize what he had ordered – he didn't have time to make up his mind. He was too busy thing about Pepper; about touching her hair, holding her when she was upset, caressing her face… _Stop it, Tony! _He thought to himself. _You _don't _have feelings for her. You _don't _love her. And she certainly does not love you. _

Janelle came by again. "Any dessert for you guys?" She asked.

"No, just the check, please." Tony managed to choke out the last word. He was _going_ to win this bet. As soon as Janelle left, Pepper looked at Tony in surprise. "Wow. You really do want to win this bet, don't you?"

Tony nodded with a sly grin. It was on.


End file.
